The Live Love Laugh Foundation (TLLLF), started by Deepika Padukone, after her experiences with depression, is aimed at spreading awareness about mental illnesses and ways to combat it.
The foundation’s recent Dobara Poocho Campaign worked towards destigmatisation of depression with a short four-minute film, on YouTube.
The film explores the various situations, where people have undergone depression. It urges friends and family to ask again when they spot symptoms in their loved ones.
Anna Chandy, Chairperson of the Foundation, says, “Because depression is not visible, it is hard to detect. The victims might seem happy as they can hide it well. Nevertheless, there is an internal struggle that they are facing, which only experts can understand and treat.”
“The film speaks of the complexity of depression and its multiple symptoms. We intend to sensitise people and aid them in the recognition of the disease,” she adds.
Vivek Shangari, an entrepreneur who survived the disease, takes us through his experiences. “I had a harsh childhood. Even after I grew up, I would focus on my work and neglect my family and personal life. I was an introvert. The trigger came when my wife divorced me. I had a nervous breakdown and went into depression. As an entrepreneur, I worked with some of the best minds. Though I spoke about how I was feeling, none of them understood what I was going through. They often told me to ‘get over it’ or ‘take a vacation’. TLLLF, through its campaign, is telling people to start a conversation, which is an important step when someone is experiencing a mental illness.”
On his recovery, he explains, “I cannot say I have completely recovered, but now I know how to handle my symptoms.” Anovshka Chandy, another survivor, says, “The hardest part about having this disease is the acceptance. I did not tell my friends about it and would pretend to be happy all the time, till my treatment ended.”
She echoes Anna Chandy, when she says, “Medical experts have to be approached in case of depression. My mother and sister detected the symptoms and urged me to go to the doctor.”
“My treatment was a combination of anxiety medication and therapy, which helped. I was prescribed a strict regimen for my day, which I found hard to adhere to in the beginning.”
Anovshka says that a depressed person should be treated just like a person with any other disease.
“We don’t want sympathy. We want to be accepted and not judged,” she adds.
For details visit thelivelovelaughfuondation.org
